Reviews

Not the Plan by Gia de Cadenet

chiog's review

emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

bookrantswithj's review against another edition

funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

thisboricuareader's review

3.5

This was a great fun read. I do think the Bipolar rep can be too much, cause not all people with Bipolar disorder act the same way. The fact that she hears him talking about his ex and is like "Oh way, that's my mom". I do think the mom is more a narcissist, but the book overall is cute.

The couple is lovely and I loved (!!!!) their communication. 

rcoffey22's review

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

madhav_makes's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

blackveilbeccy's review

DNF at 25%

There were some things that intrigued me about this book - a political romance is a new one, as is the

MMC being a victim of domestic abuse from a woman with a personality disorder

.

I could not vibe with the characters in the first quarter of the book. While I was hoping this would land firmly in romance territory the actual politics took over and it became too didactic for me, which may have been okay if I’d connected with either of the leads. I DNF at the point where the FMC casually said,

straight white men ruin everything

. In addition the FMC’s relationship with her mother was done extraordinarily well - but was such a trigger for me that with the other issues I couldn’t do it any more. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

alison33445's review

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

honeycoveredpages's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

ccmata's review

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

aefy's review

4.0

Isadora and Karim met by chance on a flight, and then are reconnected through their political jobs. The only catch, they’re on opposing political sides in state/local gov’t, where it’s set between their different sides as the Montagues and Capulets. This book is a contrast between adult work political drama and then YA writing for a relationship. I’d definitely view this as a political work romance vs a romance that shows some work. Nevertheless, there are some deep topics around divorce, trauma, and moving forward that you don’t normally find in romance. There is also redundancy in some of the writer’s word choice (beautiful x 100 to describe Isadora, sexual jokes) and the plot twist was somewhat predictable. Getting insight to what it is like to work in politics was really neat, and I loved watching their relationship unfold.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

CW: divorce, abuse, parental/spouse issues